


#must be a heroic attribute

by reversedhymnal (Hymn)



Series: <3 [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Kingdom Hearts III Spoilers, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Social Media Fic, Spoilers for KH3, a partial gay awakening is happening here, forgive riku, he's a little slow on the uptake with this one, i still haven't beaten the game, in-game fic, so i'm definitely making things up for riku and mickey to do lol, this is still dumb guys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:21:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21878818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hymn/pseuds/reversedhymnal
Summary: Mickey had gotten it wrong. The gummiphone was Chip and Dale's worst invention yet, and definitely not the greatest.The problem was that Riku hadn't anticipated what it might do to him, bombarded by photos and videos of Sora as he traversed world after world. As soon as Sora became accustomed to how the gummiphone worked, the posts started piling up, full of ridiculous commentary and far, far too many cheesy selfies. Riku was amazed he hadn't yet gone blind, dazzled by that smile over and over and over again.
Relationships: Kairi & Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Mickey Mouse & Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: <3 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1576135
Comments: 15
Kudos: 137





	#must be a heroic attribute

**Author's Note:**

> :3

Mickey had gotten it wrong. The gummiphone was Chip and Dale's worst invention yet, and definitely not the greatest.

The problem was that Riku hadn't anticipated what it might do to him, bombarded by photos and videos of Sora as he traversed world after world. As soon as Sora became accustomed to how the gummiphone worked, the posts started piling up, full of ridiculous commentary and far, far too many cheesy selfies. Riku was amazed he hadn't yet gone blind, dazzled by that smile over and over and over again.

It hadn't been so bad at first. In fact, it had been great. The difficulties the king and Riku faced attempting to find a heart strongly connected to Aqua made Riku all too somber, liable to get lost in his own shadowy thoughts. That he could distract himself with Sora so readily had been an overwhelming relief: Thebes as it was rebuilt; a rock formation that looked surprisingly like Mickey's head; constellations out the gummi ship's cockpit; Donald and Goofy walking through Twilight Town; perfectly prepared gourmet meals.

Innocuous pictures, little hints of Sora's world connecting with Riku's through the gummiphone's media feed. 

The perfect distraction.

But then Donald and Goofy started posting more, and there were videos added in. The selfies started. Riku had to watch a rat cook amazingly sophisticated meals by using Sora as a puppet, shaking his little furry head in exasperation every time Sora nearly burned his eyebrows off. Riku was forced to endure Sora free climbing up seemingly every single building in Twilight Town, mailing off his first post card, trying to jump atop a golden cloud in Olympus.

Riku watched and watched and watched, increasingly bewildered at the feelings in his heart, the way it began to twinge at the sight of Sora. A sight that was familiar, comforting -- or was supposed to be. Riku didn't know what had changed or why; the turbulence in his heart had been so slow at building that he was helpless to know the trigger.

_It's fine if you're jealous_ , he tried telling himself. _It's only that he looks like he's having so much fun, and I wish I was there_.

That didn't sit quite right, but Riku guessed it was close enough. He didn't know why else his gaze would linger, his gut squirm, his heart get heavy. Even with this new strangeness, Riku didn't want to turn away. Sora was still his preferred distraction, even if the selfie Sora had taken with Meg kissing his cheek made Riku want to punch things.

Which was weird, but Riku could ignore it.

Whatever this was, it would pass. Riku had conquered the darkness in his heart, he could conquer this as well. He just needed to concentrate on finding Aqua, getting her home; all the rest would follow. Normalcy would return. Riku could go back to looking at Sora's goofy face without feeling his skin tingle or having his mouth go dry.

Then, the barrel thing happened.

\---

**DONALD:**

_A video of Sora performing tricks on a barrel while juggling._

look at him go!!  
#munny boost #working for his supper #twilight town #lemons #circus act

_comments_  
**RIKU:** Aren't you meant to be DOING something, Sora?  
**SORA:** what d'you mean?  
**SORA:** i was juggling lemons! on a barrel!  
**SORA:** that's definitely doing something  
**SORA:** something AWESOME  
**RIKU:** >:|

Riku hated that barrel.

There were precisely seven videos in existence of Sora using a barrel to show off, the townsfolk cheering and tossing munny Sora's way as he performed hand stands, backward flips, and dizzying spins. Twilight Town and Thebes were going to go broke at this rate. Riku hated the townsfolk encouraging this behavior almost as much as he hated that damned barrel in the lemon juggling video, and every other barrel that had ever assisted Sora in his theatrics.

All barrels should be destroyed on sight, he decided. 

What was it, Riku wondered, that bothered him so much about it? He couldn't be certain. He knew only that he'd lost count of how many times he'd watched the videos, feeling hypnotized and heavy, so very strange inside his own skin. 

"Riku..." Mickey broached, voice tentative. "You're, uh. You're glaring awfully hard over there. Everything okay?"

"Yes," Riku mumbled, still glaring at his gummiphone.

The king was silent, for which Riku was grateful. He had the video muted so he didn't have to hear Sora's delighted laughter, or Donald and Goofy in the background. No distractions. Riku just focused on Sora and his surprisingly strong arm as it held his whole body up in the air, expertly poised for a seeming eternity.

Riku's _everything_ shivered. 

He scowled.

"Are you... sure? Only, you've been frowning an awful lot the last couple of days. It's not like you, Riku. Not anymore."

"What? I'm fine. Everything's fine. I don't know what you're--"

"Riku," Mickey interrupted, tone gone stern. "Talk to me."

On Riku's screen, the video started over. Sora balanced precariously on the barrel's side, rolling it to and fro across cobbled ground with only his feet, hands busy juggling a trio of lemons. It was mesmerizing. Wildly distracting but not in any way Riku understood. It was making Riku feel and act strange and he didn't know why, except that every time he saw one of these barrel posts it felt like getting the breath knocked out of him. 

"I don't know," Riku groaned. 

He finally let his hand drop, hiding his gummiphone from view just as Sora tossed the lemons up high, preparing for his next trick. Slumping over his bent knees, it all felt like too much, especially since the damn video seemed burned into his subconscious. The feelings lingered. Riku admitted: "I'm weird. Everything's weird. I don't know what's going on!"

Mickey hummed, concerned. "Let's talk it out, then! Between the two of us, I'm sure we can solve the problem."

Riku was no longer sure of anything, except that he did _not_ want to talk about whatever this was. The very idea made him want to squirm, though in a wholly different way than Sora's videos did. 

"Thanks," he mumbled into his knees. "Maybe another time though? I'm beat."

"But--"

"We're going to Cinderella's world tomorrow, right? That should be fun. Haven't seen her since I helped kidnap her for Maleficent." Riku hesitated, then, immediately ashamed of his tone, his mood, his words. Mickey was right; he was better than this, these days.

Still, he swallowed down the apology rising in his throat, and didn't look at the king as he headed for his tent. "Good night, Mickey."

Behind him, he heard Mickey's disappointed sigh. "Night, Riku. Rest well."

\---

Riku did not rest well.

In fact, he hardly rested at all. 

**SORA:**

_A selfie of Sora atop a grassy ridge, the camera angled to take in a sky full of stars._

i think i have a lock on a new world! probably be busy for a while, so thought i'd drop in on thebes and share one of my favorite views!  
#wishing you were here #sea of stars #nice night #thebes 

_comments_  
**DONALD:** go to bed! you'll crash the gummi ship if you don't get at least five hours!  
**SORA:** that was one time!  
**CHIP &DALE:** I don't want to hear about you hurting that ship!  
**CHIP &DALE:** It had better not have a single scratch on it!!  
**DONALD:** ha  
**SORA:** see if i ever share nice things again ):<

Riku thought about commenting. Thought about saying _I wish I was there with you_ , but how could Riku be certain who it was Sora meant? Maybe he was talking about Kairi, though the magic of the Secret Forest meant that her posts and comments were often delayed or out of order. Maybe Sora meant all his friends, or maybe he meant Roxas. He must be thinking often about the Nobody, trying as he was to set him free...

Had Riku always over thought such things? Or was it only now, when he'd gone so strange, that he hesitated. The answer felt too weighted, important when it shouldn't have been: _who are you wishing for, Sora?_

Riku stared at the picture, at the sweetness of one of Sora's rarer, softer smiles.

His heart ached.

\---

Despite the awkwardness of meeting previous Princesses of Heart whom Riku had once helped hold hostage, things got better after Sora arrived at the new world. There were no barrels, for one, and Sora appeared to have launched straight into a rescue mission. Also, he was surprisingly plastic and angular, and while Riku didn't understand why any of these changes might quiet the weirdness going on inside him, he was glad that they did.

**SORA:**

_A picture of Sora balancing atop a red rubber ball._

i'm so small in this world!!  
#toys #this is so weird #andy's room #rescue mission

_comments_  
**RIKU:** Ha. You're small in every world, Sora.  
**SORA:** NOT THIS SMALL  
**RIKU:** I'm not sure I see a difference. (:  
**SORA:** whatever, just cause some of us haven't hit our freakish growth spurts yet >:|  
**SORA:** i'll take you here someday, then YOU can be tiny  
**RIKU:** Still won't be as tiny as you. (:  
**SORA:** ARGH

It was good to be able to tease like normal. 

Riku stopped scowling at his phone, though his fingers did occasionally twitch with the helpless desire to pull up a barrel post. But Riku managed to hold those impulses in check, thankfully, because there was no time for foolishness. He and Mickey were busy, and working hard to return to the Dark Realm as soon as possible, fear of Aqua's fate spurring them ever onward. 

When he could, though, Riku caught up on Sora's feed. Most of his posts after his arrival at Galaxy Toys were just pictures of really cool looking robots, which Riku readily admitted to wishing he could _also_ pilot. How cool would that be?

**SORA:** SO COOL  
**RIKU:** Okay, yeah. Really cool.  
**KAIRI:** I want one!!! O:  
**SORA:** hahaha  
**RIKU:** The purple one? (:  
**KAIRI:** Yes! You know me so well :D  
**SORA:** when you finish training we can come back! this place is awesome!  
**SORA:** oops, heartless, gotta go!  
**RIKU:** :|  
**KAIRI:** XD;

For a while, life was nearly normal again.

\---

Riku and Mickey went back to the Dark Realm after speaking with the seven dwarves and Snow White, frustrated with lack of progress. The new keyblade seemed bulky, strange in Riku's hand. The weight of it pulled at him, and it didn't take long for Mickey to call a halt, dragging Riku back to the light of the worlds.

"I'll get the hang of it," Riku promised, embarrassed.

"You will," Mickey agreed. "But there's no reason to jump in the deep end while you do. I think we should go visit Hercules. He's been around a long time and a lot of traffic goes through the Coliseum. He might know something about our three missing guardians. Besides! It'll be a great place to get in some practice, Riku!"

Mickey was right, of course. Riku would have agreed, except that the mention of Hercules somehow made him think of Sora and Meg's selfie, and that last post with all the stars, Sora's nameless wish. 

All at once Riku hurt, whole body clenching tight with longing.

"I'll set up a Tent," is what he managed after a horrible, painful moment where his throat was too tight to form words. Mickey let him without pressing, which was a relief, but by the time Riku finished and had settled next to the king in front of the warm blaze of the campfire, Mickey had found something on his gummiphone to cheer Riku up with.

"Look at this!"

**SORA:**

_A picture of a game promo._

hey riku, what are you doing in a video game? :p  
#he looks just like riku #verum rex #video game 

_comments_  
**KAIRI:** Oh wow, he does!  
**GOOFY:** Funny that Rex was convinced that was you, Sora!  
**SORA:** haha right? he must need glasses, i've never looked that good

Riku was glad the king was holding the gummiphone, because a shock of feeling swept through him, so strong and strange and bewildering that Riku was certain he would have dropped the damned thing. 

"Isn't that nice?" Mickey asked, waggling the phone.

"Uh."

Relentless, Mickey said: "Sora must think you're very handsome."

"He does?" Riku asked, bewildered.

But Mickey just laughed, as if Riku had said something hilarious.

He watched in a daze as the king liked the post, no longer sharing his phone screen. Which wouldn't do, because Riku suddenly had to read that post again, immediately, so that maybe the buzzing in his ears would recede. He pulled his own out, opened up the media feed, and found it.

**MICKEY:** Don't say that, Sora! You've grown into a fine young man!  
**MICKEY:** Though that does look amazingly like Riku!  
**SORA:** RIGHT?? matches his new hair cut and everything!  
**SORA:** and thanks mickey (: you're a pal  
**DONALD:** he's got a big enough head already, don't flatter him!  
**SORA:** don't spoil this for me!  
**RIKU:** I don't sit like that.

_What_. Riku had no idea why he'd typed that, but he was horrified that he had. Especially when the next comments came pouring in:

**KAIRI:** HAHAHAHAHA  
**SORA:** oh please  
**SORA:** a lifetime of you posing like you're too cool for school  
**SORA:** don't even try  
**KAIRI:** HAHAHAHAHAHAHA  
**SORA:** :p

There was a sudden click and flash of light beside Riku. Startled, Riku jerked his head around to see Mickey looking mischievous. "Better refresh your feed, Riku!" the king said, typing rapidly.

"Mickey," Riku said, "Mickey, _don't!"_

Mickey winked. "Too late!"

Riku wasn't exactly proud of the strangled noise he made, but neither was he particularly ashamed. Especially when Mickey only laughed as Riku stood abruptly and stomped off into his tent. He shut the flap with more jerkiness than he needed, and then he flopped down on his sleeping bag, holding the gummiphone above his head.

_I'm going to regret this_ , he thought. 

He reopened the media app, feed refreshed.

**MICKEY:**

_A picture of Riku in profile, one knee bent with his arm wrapped around it, staring broodily down at the gummiphone in his hand._

They could be twins!  
#dramatic poses #must be a heroic attribute #riku #verum rex

_comments_  
**SORA:** Y E S  
**SORA:** THIS IS WHAT IM SAYING  
**SORA:** haha riku always looks like model or something  
**SORA:** a model*

Riku could feel himself flushing.

He could also feel his heart, big and gangly and rattling away in his chest, like an engine about to overheat. His whole body had gone weird, as though he could feel every inch of his tingling, hot skin, made too aware of himself, of his looks, of how people perceived him.

How _Sora_ perceived him. 

He had to stop this.

**RIKU:** This is ridiculous.  
**KAIRI:** Aw, don't get embarrassed!  
**SORA:** seriously riku accept how pretty you are

Riku spluttered, face burning hotter.

**RIKU:** Pretty?!?  
**SORA:** hahaha  
**SORA:** sorry should i have said handsome? :p  
**SORA:** now you're just fishing for compliments  
**RIKU:** I am not!  
**SORA:** suuuuuure :p  
**RIKU:** I was just surprised. No one's ever called me that before!  
**KAIRI:** D: no way!  
**SORA:** D: lies!  
**MICKEY:** Actually, Snow White did when we visited! But you were in the mines, helping Doc.  
**SORA:** oh man yeah  
**SORA:** that picture you took of riku mining?

Riku vaguely remembered Mickey chuckling to himself that day, every time he glanced in Riku's direction. But what occupied his attention was more to do with Sora, and how readily he remembered one, random photo amidst the hundreds that got posted on the media feed.

Sure, Riku could probably call to mind every photo taken of Sora, and he had several videos memorized to the point of possible insanity, where Riku sometimes dreamed of Sora walking barrels through fields of shadow heartless, shouting cheerfully: "No worries, I'll find the one that stole your butter!"

But that was Riku.

And this was Sora.

Sora, who apparently thought Riku was pretty and like a model.

It was probably a terrible idea, but Riku went back to focusing on the comments, in desperate need of distraction. He was too afraid of where his brain might land once it stopped spinning round and round to the tune of Mickey's voice saying: _Sora must think you're very handsome_.

**MICKEY:** Oh, no. That one she called "devastating" (:  
**MICKEY:** But she had accidentally walked in on Riku as he was sleeping that morning, told me he looked "pretty and sweet as a newborn fawn resting in a summer glade"  
**KAIRI:** XD  
**KAIRI:** That's so cute!  
**SORA:** awwwww :) i miss snow, she's great  
**RIKU:** I really don't know what to say right now.  
**RIKU:** Other than that this is still ridiculous.  
**KAIRI:** Riku, I think we need to sit down and talk about your self-image  
**KAIRI:** I have a feeling your perception might be a bit skewed ):  
**RIKU:** NO  
**RIKU:** NO MORE TEA TIME SELF HELP TALKS  
**KAIRI:** YES  
**RIKU:** NO  
**KAIRI:** YES ):<  
**RIKU:** NEVER  
**KAIRI:** LOOK, ITS HAPPENING  
**RIKU:** I'm running away from home.  
**KAIRI:** I'll just come find you again!  
**RIKU:** >:|  
**KAIRI:** ;D  
**SORA:** i need some popcorn :3

Riku turned his gummiphone off, huffing. He felt so flush with embarrassment that he was nearly sweating, his stomach twisting this way and that with a baffling sort of nausea that even the feeling of security and belonging generated by Kairi’s reminder of how she’d _known_ him, even in a stranger’s form, couldn’t help ease.

It wasn't just the praise. No one had ever called him pretty before, sure, but he'd been complimented on his looks plenty enough to know that people tended to appreciate them.

No, it was _Sora_ saying it that was the problem.

Because now Riku realized what had been so strange, so different, all those countless times Riku had watched a video or seen a picture and felt heavy, wrong footed, dry mouthed and hypnotized. _Sora_ looked handsome balancing one handed on a barrel, strong and graceful, effortless control. _Sora_ looked pretty cooking a pot of soup, flushed with heat from the cooking range and brow gently furrowed in concentration. 

It wasn't Riku's perception of his own image that had been skewed. 

_Sora, Sora, Sora_.

Rolling over, Riku groaned into his pillow, and tried very hard not to think about anything at all.

\---

In the morning, before he and Mickey packed up to head for Thebes, Riku scrolled back in Sora's feed until he found the post with all the stars. #wishing you were here

 **RIKU:** If I'm pretty, then so are you.

He closed out immediately, heart gone sluggish, as if the weight of what he'd done was too much a burden for it to bear. Riku stashed his phone in his pocket, trying to reassure himself that it was fine, that the post was so far back only Sora would ever see it, and Sora would never think anything was weird. 

He would never guess how it made Riku feel to see him now: strange and new and terrified.

All day he kept off the gummiphone, until he and Mickey had set up a tent just outside Thebes on a grassy hillock with a view of the stars. It gave Riku courage looking at them, knowing they were the same stars Sora had looked at not so long ago. He pulled out his phone, tapping determinedly on the notification that read _1 new reply to your comment!_ before he could lose his nerve.

**SORA:** :"D

What a goof, Riku thought, laughing softly to himself.

After a day of cold anxiety, it was easy to sink into relief, to feel warm all over. And while it wasn’t quite the warmth he remembered, not any longer, Riku still liked it: the tingling, heavy weight filling him up, winding tight around the base of his spine. And it wasn’t quite so worrying, now that Riku could feel this way and think _he’s so attractive_ , rather than getting guilty and confused and determined to destroy all barrels on sight. 

_This_ he could figure out, get to the point where he could casually think and say the things Sora had in those comments, find a way to look at Sora without it completely destroying all of Riku’s sense of reason. 

After all, this was Sora. The two of them would always find a way to be okay. Riku could trust that, if nothing else. 

He rubbed at his face, called himself ten times a fool, and then snapped a picture of the star streams overhead, magenta and violet and glimmering blue. 

\---

**RIKU:**

_A picture of the night sky._

Pretty.  
#wishing you were here 

_comments_  
**SORA:** (: wish i was there with you  
**RIKU:** <3  
**SORA:** <3  
  
  
  


\---

**Author's Note:**

> I'm in San Fransokyo now! So, kinda close to beating the game I THINK, but of course this fic idea still won't leave me alone, probably because it's all the hysterical SORA AS AN ACTUAL DISNEY PRINCESS moments in Corona that had me going OH MAN, RIKU'S REACTIONS TO THIS WOULD BE GREAT so i still haven't even written the part of the fic bunny that bit me in the first place lmao. guess we can expect at least one more fic in this series?? god i feel dumb XD;;
> 
> thank you so much for reading! <3
> 
> (& if you care to comment, pls, no spoilers past PotC, thank you!)


End file.
